


Here Comes the Thunder

by iwanttowriteyouafic



Category: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (Movies), Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, One Direction (Band), Zayn Malik (Musician)
Genre: Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Enemies to Lovers, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Head Boy Liam, Head Boy Zayn, Louis and Liam are in Slytherin, M/M, Niall's in Gryffindor, Prefect Harry, Quidditch Captain Louis, Quidditch Captain Niall, Sexual Tension, Slow Burn, Smut, Zayn and Harry are Thunderbirds, also I don't know much about Ilvermony so there will be about a thousand mistakes probably, also most likely with Hogwarts stuff too bc I've only read the first four books, anyway, magical violence eventually, not sure who bottoms yet but I'll put that in the tags when I know, side Louis/Harry, some sort of that combination, still deciding who to get Niall with, the American v Britain tension is real af, too many tags rip, tough decision
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-04
Updated: 2017-05-04
Packaged: 2018-10-28 00:54:31
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,824
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10820325
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iwanttowriteyouafic/pseuds/iwanttowriteyouafic
Summary: Liam just stared. An endless stream of unfamiliar faces stared back. The room was set up almost like a hospital ward, with rows and rows of rooms sectioned off by curtains, and different bits of furniture set up in the middle where the students were littered. In fact, it would be identical to a hospital ward, if it weren’t for the fact that the furniture was in perfect condition, the curtains looked as expensive as something in Buckingham Palace, and the students weren’t all dressed in full uniforms. Their attire was a mix of grey and black, looking closer to Muggle uniforms with trench-style coats and stylish boots rather than the long robes and polished school shoes Liam and his peers had been wearing for centuries.Liam processed all this, but he didn’t digest it. How was he supposed to react, discovering a crowd of American wizarding students hiding in the castle?(Or the one where Liam is Head Boy, Louis and Niall are Quidditch captains, and Zayn and Harry are Ilvermony students stuck at Hogwarts for reasons no one is quite brave enough to explain.)





	Here Comes the Thunder

**Author's Note:**

  * For [shiningdistractionwrites](https://archiveofourown.org/users/shiningdistractionwrites/gifts).



> Madison, I hope you like this, because I got so excited when a) I saw I was writing for you, and b) I saw your amazing prompts. This is chaptered because reasons, but I love this prompt a lot so I'm gonna update as often as I can (hopefully weekly!)
> 
> idk how fic exchanges work and whether everyone can see the prompt I was given but basically this prompt is based on Liam and Zayn having to work on some project together which incorporates Zayn's love for art and Liam's skill with potions/spells. 
> 
> Also shoutout to Kay (stylindad) for helping me brainstorm and develop the ideas for this fic! It wouldn't be even close to as complex and intricate if it weren't for your help <3

There’s something in the air, Liam thinks. They’re still at least two hours away from the castle, but the train thrums with energy, crackling like fireworks through every carriage.

Liam makes his way through the train, part of one of his new duties as Head Boy. The first years were filled with nervous excitement, cautiously introducing themselves to each other and explaining where they come from, what their status is, what rumours they (think they) know about Hogwarts. Another carriage down and Liam is weaving his way past second years. They were practically bouncing in their seats, very few of them actually sitting down while the majority raced around trying to find each other, and broke out into excited chatter as soon as their eyes met. The third years were tamer, but only barely. Liam found himself having to break up an argument between two boys who both adamantly say they were in the compartment they were fighting over first. Liam points out that there’s more than enough space for the both of them and their friends to fit. They begrudgingly nod their heads, making Liam grin as he walks off.

The fourth years are a different story. They’re all in that faze of pretending to not be excited by the prospect of returning to Hogwarts, and instead sit in their compartments and talk about their summers with the sort of pretentious nonchalance that Liam has come to associated only with middle-aged housewives and fourteen-year-old wizards. Liam high-fives a few of the students who are in the hallway, mostly the friends of Slytherin’s youngest Quidditch player, beater Alex Corrington, who was some sort of hero amongst his year level. The boy himself was chatting up a Ravenclaw girl, and only looked up long enough to wink at Liam before turning back to the girl with a blush. Liam shakes his head in disbelief.

The fifth and six years are more or less the same. While a few sleep off their exhaustion from whichever end of summer party they’d been to, the vast majority hang around and talk amongst each other. They’re a fair bit more subdued than their younger peers, but are excited nonetheless. A few greet Liam with smiles (and, in the case of a pretty girl barking up the wrong tree, with a lewd lip bite), some even stopping him to ask if the rumours of having a new Potions teacher are true (they’re not) and if Liam’s family is happy he made Head Boy (they are) and if his internship was cool (it really, _really_ was). The Slytherin keeper and second beater (Alexandria Wardlaw and Jade Thirwall, respectively) wanted Liam to stick around and chat for a bit about some ideas they have for the team this year, but Liam left them with the promise of properly catching up once they’re back at school, and moved on.

And then he was sighing with relief, now amongst the seventh years again.

He’d barely stepped foot onto the carriage when he was being pulled into a compartment.

“Took you long enough,” Louis said, shoving Liam onto the seat. “Now, time to get down to business.”

“Niall,” Liam greeted, pulling him into a hug that Liam tapped his foot impatiently at.

“Liam, seriously, I’ve got questions and this is only a very short train ride,” Louis whines. “It’s time for Rumour Mill.”

‘Rumour Mill’ was a game they had been playing since the train ride to Hogwarts in their second year. While they’d only given it an official name sometime around their fifth year, it has always gone like this: one of them would bring up a rumour they’d heard, and the other two would predict an outcome. This year Louis had declared a ‘Special Edition’ on account of Liam being privy to special knowledge and all, and had adjusted the rules so that now either Louis or Niall would bring up a rumour, the other would suggest something ridiculous, and then Liam would give the actual real answer. Liam then pointed out that as Quidditch captains both Niall and Louis would also be aware of some stuff Liam is, and the rules should be amended accordingly.

They had discussed all this throughout Niall’s Owl system, where Niall sent Louis a letter using Eternal Parchment, and it got passed between the three of them with them commenting on each other’s answers. Within a month Liam had to start charming the paper just to fit it back in the envelope, and had nearly destroyed the whole thing when his sister’s cat sunk its claws into a particularly long paragraph about how bored Niall was back in Muggle Ireland.

“Don’t worry, I got snacks,” Niall said, opening his satchel to reveal a small army’s worth of sweets.

“None of us were worried about that,” Louis tells him. He still makes sure to give Niall an appreciative tap on the head when Niall holds out some homemade fudge (“ _Curtesy of me mam_ ”).

Liam gratefully accepts a bag of crisps and makes himself comfortable. “Shall we begin, gentlemen?”

“That’s my line,” Louis says, pointing an accusing finger in warning at Liam. Liam smacks it away with a laugh. “Anyway. New potions teacher?”

“Old potions teachers married a young and hot half-Gremlin and moved to South Australia in search of a climate appropriate to raise their quarter-Gremlin children,” Niall says.

“No new Potions teacher,” Liam says. “Also that’s not how Gremlin lineage works.”

Louis clicks his fingers in disappointment, making them all laugh. “Alright, what about the rumours of Hagrid coming back?”

“To do what? Teddy Lupin accepted Hagrid’s job years ago,” Liam points out.

“If Hagrid asked to come back, they’d let him come back,” Niall points out. “With personal recommendations from the likes of Granger and Longbottom, there’s no way the school board would tell him no.”

“I reckon he’ll come flying in on a fucking dragon-donkey or something during the feast tonight,” Louis says.

“He’s not returning, unfortunately,” Liam says. “He’s too loved up in France with the Beauxbatons Headmistress. Besides, Teddy’s great as groundskeeper.”

“His hair’s pretty cool,” Niall says. “Speaking of, neither of you have mentioned that I dyed my hair.”

“You always dye your hair,” Louis says.

“Yeah, but this time it’s _ash blonde_ instead of _platinum_.”

Liam and Louis just stare at him blankly.

“You two are hopeless,” Niall grumbles.

“No, we’re just manly men that don’t spend hours bleaching,” Louis says.

“First of all, it doesn’t take _hours_ ,” Niall tells him. “Secondly, ‘manly men’? What does that even mean?”

“It means that we enjoy manhood,” Louis says.

“Oh, I know you enjoy manhood,” Niall says. “Siva Kaneswaren’s been boasting about feeling you up at some Summer party all morning.”

“I _knew_ that son of a bitch would gossip,” Louis groaned. He hid his face behind his hands, but then peeked at Niall hopefully. “What’re the reviews?”

“Best ass in Britain, apparently,” Niall said, making a disgusted face.

Louis chewed on his fudge happily.

“We’re getting off topic,” Liam pointed out. It’d been three minutes and he was already getting a headache from the two of them (he wouldn’t have it any other way, though). “What’s with the rumour that the Quidditch season is being shortened?”

“Making room for a pumpkin-slinging contest,” Niall answered immediately.

“That rumour’s actually true,” Louis says. “About the season being shortened. Or, at least, we’re finishing a few weeks earlier than scheduled, but not sure whether we’re playing less games or not. No-one’s been told why, though.”

“Weird,” Liam said with a frown.

“Weird,” Niall echoed.

“Is it true that the Room of Requirement is off limits this year?” Louis asked.

Liam furrowed his eyebrows. “Where’d you hear that?”

Louis made a vague gesture.

“Weird rumour. Like, it’s not even exciting,” Liam continued. He shrugged. “No idea. It’s not the type of thing they’d tell me or Normani about, anyway.”

“What do they tell you about?” Niall asks.

“Yeah, what info can you give us?” Louis prompted.

“So that you two can fuel the rumour mill?” Liam asked. They both nodded. “Uh, not much so far. The Headmistress is being weirdly secretive, to the point where some staff have been sending Owls around asking if they had missed any information. I reckon something must be happening, but no-one’s been told anything.”

Louis leant back against his seat, dejected. “How disappointing. What use are you to me, Liam?”

“Private Prefects dorm?” Liam suggested.

Louis perked up. “That I can take cute boys and girls into?”

“Not a chance, Lou,” Liam told him, dodging when Louis started throwing candy at him.

 

                                                                        +

 

When the train pulled up at Hogwarts, it was dark and cold and deafeningly loud, just as it always is. Liam winced at the noise as he exited the train, but was grinning. Louis had an arm around both his and Niall’s shoulders, and was adding to the noise by yelling _“we’re back motherf-“_ before Liam quickly muttered a spell to shut Louis’ mouth. Louis turned to him with the most affronted expression Liam had ever seen in his life. Liam and Niall agreed to leave Louis like that for a while, if only because he looked so hilarious (and a silent Louis was a rare Louis).

Liam untangled himself from Louis’ suction-cup grip so that he could point a bunch of first-years in the direction of Teddy Lupin (whose flaming blue hair stood out against the night sky even more than the lantern he was holding). He was then side-tracked by some third years who were complaining that someone had jinxed the boats to float away from them every time they tried to get in. (One girl had already fallen into the lake, much to Liam’s amusement – er, horror, he means.) Liam conducted the counter- charm and sent the group on their way, and made sure to let the Hufflepuff House coordinator know to watch out for a few of the boys, who were apparently going through their rebellious period of charming everything for no reason. Liam suspects it has something to do with Peeves’ influence, but he can’t say for sure.

He was passed from person to person, sometimes needing to enlist the help of the Head Girl (because as helpful as Liam wanted to be, he really did think that Normani would be more help with helping some of the second year girls find some emergency tampons), quickly falling into his role as Head Boy.

It wasn’t until about half an hour later that he was finally getting onto a carriage with Niall, Louis, and some of Niall’s Gryffindor friends, thoroughly exhausted and ready for the feast.

On the way up to the castle, Liam noticed light coming from the forest a while away from them. Flickers of light, like lanterns. But Liam couldn’t figure out what it was – after all, everyone travelled from the train to the castle by boat or carriage, and neither went through the trees. Maybe they were testing out another form of travel, Liam supposes. Or they just strung up some lamps.

“Castle looks bigger somehow,” Niall mumbled. “Or grander. I don’t know.”

“It’s putting on a show for us,” Liam jokes.

“Or for them,” Louis said, pointing. Liam followed his line of sight to the corner of the castle, where a crowd of people were being ushered down the side. They weren’t in uniform, from what Liam could see, but they weren’t dressed up in Ministry cloaks, either.

“Who’re they?” Niall asked.

It took Liam a moment to realise Niall was asking him. “No idea,” Liam said honestly. He kept watching the group of unknown people until they completely walked out of sight.

 

                                                                        +

 

When the last first year was announced as a Slytherin student, no one cheered louder than Liam and Louis. Liam was ecstatic because Slytherin had received by far the most amount of students, and probably the highest percentage of students since before the second rise of Voldemort created so much distrust in the Slytherin House. Louis, Liam imagines, was excited because Augustus Zilvozich was the nephew of a reserve player for the Czech Quidditch team, and Louis is the type of person who believes that Quidditch ability is transferred genetically (or genetic-adjacent, in this case).

“We have exactly eight more students than Hufflepuff now,” Louis hissed into Liam’s ear after they’d finished welcoming their new students. “That House Cup is ours Payno.”

“First years don’t get us that many points,” Liam reminds him. “If anything, they lose most of our points. If it weren’t for Alex McCormac and Gordon Allistair doing a dozen acts of kindness every week we’d probably never even break even.”

Louis gave Liam a look. “You’re supposed to be the optimistic one.”

“Nah, I’m the optimistic one,” Niall says, sliding into the seat next to Liam. No one batted an eye at his presence, far too used to him crashing in the Slytherin common room and leaving his red and gold uniform everywhere. He helps himself to a bread roll when the feast materialises on the table. “Liam’s the logical one.”

Louis considers this. “What am I, then, O Great Nialler?”

Niall smiles winningly. “The side-kick.”

“You Irish little-“

“Mr Payne?” Headmistress Chang calls. Liam turns around and finds her standing just to the side of the staff table, waiting patiently and sliding her wand back into her coat. Liam sees that Normani is making her way towards the Headmistress, and figures they have some task he’s forgotten about. He slides out from the Slytherin table, giving one last mourning glance to the feast that really should be in his mouth right about now, and headed to the front of the Hall.

“Settling in alright?” Chang asks them when they arrive before her.

“Yes ma’am,” Liam answers, shaking her hand when she offers it. Normani does the same, and then the Headmistress ushers them out of Hall and into the quiet corridors. She walks quickly, with purpose, talking as she goes.

“I’m going to show you two something that I trust you’ll keep as a secret until I tell you otherwise,” she said, voice more serious than Liam had heard in a long time. Liam exchanged a confused look with Normani, who looked equally confused, both of them stumbling after the professor like ducklings. Chang continues: “This… _development_ will come as a bit of a shock, but I’m sure that we’ll all deal with it. We’ve certainly dealt with much worse.”

A sense of dread filled Liam’s gut. He knew what _something worse_ was referring to: the days of the Death Eaters and nationwide panic and mass murders and war. The very war that Headmistress Chang fought in, alongside the Boy Who Lived and other great wizards like Granger and Lovegood. If Chang was even bringing it up, it must be big.

“The Room of Requirement is off-limits with no exceptions to all Hogwarts students,” the Headmistress said. “And yourselves and other Prefects will be given rosters for night duty alongside staff to ensure all students abide by the curfew.”

“Excuse me Headmistress,” Normani said. “But is there something we should be worried about?”

The Headmistress stopped walking. “No,” she said, after a moment. “Not if everything goes to plan.”

The dread didn’t leave Liam for the rest of the walk. Chang kept talking to them, but it was all vague, didn’t make sense. Liam didn’t understand how there could be danger and no danger simultaneously, how they were expected to stay calm and not be afraid when their Headmistress was clearly wary about something.

He didn’t get much time to ponder it, though, because soon they were coming to a halt in the middle of a hallway as an inconspicuous door appeared on the wall before them.

“Don’t be alarmed,” Chang said quietly, before pushing open the door. Liam and Normani approached the open doorway cautiously. Whatever they were about to see was obviously a big deal, was odd enough that they had been sworn to secrecy and introduced with during the one time when literally no one else but ghosts would walk past (and even the ghosts wouldn’t miss the first feast of the year – they were dead, but not _that_ dead). Liam prepared for the worst.

He didn’t prepare himself for a room full of teenagers.

“What,” Liam managed, throat dry.

“Normani Kordei, Liam Payne,” Chang began, standing tall. “I would like to introduce you to the students of America’s Ilvermony School of Wizards and Witches.”

Liam just stared. An endless stream of unfamiliar faces stared back. The room was set up almost like a hospital ward, with rows and rows of rooms sectioned off by curtains, and different bits of furniture set up in the middle where the students were littered. In fact, it would be identical to a hospital ward, if it weren’t for the fact that the furniture was in perfect condition, the curtains looks as expensive as something in Buckingham Palace and the students weren’t all dressed in full uniforms. Their attire was a mix of grey and black, looking closer to Muggle uniforms with trench-style coats and stylish boots rather than the long robes and polished school shoes Liam and his peers had been wearing for centuries.

Liam processed all this, but he didn’t digest it. How was he supposed to react, discovering a crowd of American wizarding students hiding in the castle?

“Some of them, at least,” Chang continued. “The school’s student body and most of the staff have been distributed throughout the Wizarding schools in central Europe.”

“We would travel further, but we wanted to stay relatively local to each other,” a man said, appearing from a small congregate of what looked like professors. He looked around Chang’s age, middle-aged with salt and pepper hair, and a pair of bright blue eyes that made him look more youthful than the air of wisdom surrounding him let on. He came forward and shook both Liam and Normani’s hands, introducing himself as Headmaster Michaelson.

“Excuse me, sir,” Normani approached cautiously. “But may I ask why you and your students are in Europe?”

“Excellent question,” Michaelson said politely, managing a smile even as his eyes turned stormy and sombre. It occurred to Liam, then, that the man’s eyes changed colour with emotion. “There has been a… strange occurrence, we’ll say, that has resulted in an investigation at our school. While MACUSA deals with the issue, we felt it would be safest to have our students attend international schools, so that their education wouldn’t be hindered by all this mess.”

Liam furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. “MACUSA?”

“The Magical Congress of the United States of America,” Chang supplied. “It’s the American equivalent of the Ministry, in simple terms.”

Liam nodded in understanding, but, really, he was struggling to understand any of it. It all just seemed surreal.

Michaelson turns to gesture to the American students, who were all watching the conversation attentively. “As your Headmistress was saying, the students you see before you are just a portion of our school community,” the man explains. “These are our Thunderbirds, one of our larger Houses. The Ilvermony Student Council and Head Boy will be arriving separately tonight, but otherwise, these are the students you will be getting to know throughout the year.”

“The year?” Liam asked. “The whole year?”

“The problem we’re facing at home is quite complicated,” Michaelson said. “We believe that keeping the students in Europe for the entirety of the year will be the least disruptive option.”

“We’re happy to have you join us,” Chang said to the group of Americans, ever the diplomat. Liam couldn’t help but notice how Michaelson’s eyes turned a soft violet when he caught the Headmistress’ gaze. He exchanged a look with Normani, who had a knowing smile on her lips.

“Sorry for springing all this on you,” Michaelson said, turning to Liam and Normani again. “We just figured that having the two of you in the know would be best, so that you could be a liaison for my students. As you can imagine, it’ll take a while for everyone to find an equilibrium with each other.”

Liam didn’t know how to answer, so he just nodded. Michaelson looked like he was waiting for some response, but luckily Chang saved them from having to conduct an awkward reply.

“We will appreciate your discretion about all this, for now,” Chang says, eyes hard and intense. “I will be announcing the Ilvermony students’ arrival tomorrow morning, but until then it would be best for this to remain a secret. You two know as well as I do that we have more than a few overtly curious students who might try to find answers they aren’t authorised to look for.”

All Liam hears is: _don’t you dare tell Louis._ Headmistress Chang had learnt the hard way that Louis was extremely skilled at manipulating spells in order to spy on people and create a whole bunch of shortcuts in magic. His expertise was only matched by Liam, although Liam was a way too anxious goody-two-shoes to use his skill for anything beyond using his patronus like a cell phone to talk to other students.

“If neither of you have any questions, I’ll invite you to become acquainted with your Prefect dormitories. This is all a lot to take in, and I know that your friends will try to draw information out of you,” Chang says. She laughs a little to herself. “God knows what my friends were like in school, always getting into trouble. At least back then we had the excuse of trouble always finding us, though.”

Sometimes Liam forgets that the Headmistress was at Hogwarts at the time of the Second Wizarding War, and friends with Harry Potter, no less. Not to mention a part of Dumbledore’s Army. He wonders if the rumours of being Potter’s first love were true.

“I need to travel to the other schools to make sure the students are settling in alright, but my staff here will make sure the Thunderbirds behave themselves,” Michaelson says to Chang more than anyone else. “I’ll return sometime tomorrow. Send word if you need anything, ma’am.”

Liam definitely didn’t miss how Chang needed to clear her throat before speaking again. “I will keep that in mind, Mr Michaelson.”

The man smiled blindingly. “Please, call me Michael.”

“ _Michael Michaelson_ ,” Normani laughed in disbelief when they left the Room of Requirement and set off for their dorm. “His name is _Michael Michaelson?_ ”

“Sounds about right coming from the Headmaster of a school with a House named _Thunderbird_ ,” Liam laughed. “What’re the other Houses called, Lightningcat, Rainbear and Sunshinemouse?”

Normani snorted. “I wouldn’t be surprised. Did you see their uniforms? Looked like something straight out of _Vampire Academy_.”

Liam looked at her, confused. “Out of what?”

“Sorry, Muggle reference,” Normani said with a grin. “Good books, though. You should give them a read.”

“I get the feeling we’re not going to have much downtime for reading this year,” Liam says.

She shrugs. “There’s always Christmas break.”

Their dorm, like the House common rooms, requires some sort of answer or password to get in. For whatever reason, the sculpture of the crow requested to know what colour hair pins Chang had been sporting.

“Green,” Liam answered.

Normani rolled her eyes playfully. “You have to be specific, Li. _Emerald._ ”

The wall behind the sculpture parted with a rumble, stone sliding on stone and revealing a short flight of stairs lit up by floating candles. Liam and Normani shared an excited look before racing up the steps, playfully shoving each other out of the way and laughing giddily.

They stop short when they see the room.

“Holy shit,” Normani gasped.

The entire common room was dripping in charcoal and burgundy, with rich gold trimmings along the curtains and walls. There was a floor-to-ceiling window on the far side of the room, revealing a gorgeous view of the lake, the reflection of the moon casting the surrounding forest in a soft glow. The furniture was all burgundy and black, too, and included a huge three-person couch, two arm chairs, a coffee table, dining table and half a dozen chairs. A fire place was filled with glowing, warm flames, blanketing the room in a soft golden hue. And that was just their common room.

Liam’s private bedroom was impressive, to say the least.

It was in a private tower, adjacent to Normani’s on the other side of their common room. This meant lots of privacy, and only having to walk up a half-dozen stairs to get to his room, which would spare him a lot of injuries for the nights where Niall and the others inevitable convince him to drink a few too many and invite themselves to stay in his room, with their shoving hands and excited bouncing.

The room itself was amazing. The bed was huge (king-size, he thinks), the bookshelf is filled with dozens of books he’s dying to read, and, most importantly, the bathroom is huge. There’s a shower big enough for six people, a bath tub that resembles more of a small swimming pool, and a stack of fluffy white towels that are soft to the touch. Everything is in golds and soft reds, looking grand in every sense of the word.

“Not too bad,” Liam whistles when he meets up with Normani in the common room again.

“It’s amazing,” Normani says, shaking her head in disbelief. “Makes everything a little less daunting.”

“I wasn’t nervous until I found out we have to eat lunch with Chang every Wednesday,” Liam jokes.

Normani laughs, hiding her face in her hands. “I’m gonna embarrass myself in front of her, I can feel it. She’ll revoke my new room from me. Make us share with people again.”

Liam shudders dramatically, but they both know that their friends will be in here more often than not. There’s no way he’s going to be able to go the whole year without his boys, and he doesn’t expect Normani to go the year without her’s.

“Oh shit,” Normani says suddenly, pointing behind Liam. And spins on his heal to find their dining table now stacked with trays of food from the feast they missed, complete with goblets of juice and bowls of desserts.

“You know, Mani,” Liam begins, hooking an arm over the Head Girl’s shoulders. “I reckon this place will do.”

 

                                                                        +

 

Liam’s just brushing his teeth when suddenly Louis’ stag patronus bursts into the bathroom, causing Liam to involuntarily spit toothpaste all over the basin in surprise.

He’s still wheezing and sputtering when Louis’ voice rings through the bathroom. “Unlock the door Heady.”

“Please don’t call me Heady,” is the first thing Liam says when he parts the passageway to let the boys in. He doesn’t let them up the stairs, though, not entirely sure where Normani was or what state of dress she was in, and unwilling to have her space invaded on the first night they were dorming together.

Niall and Louis, regardless, still tried to look past his shoulders to see into the room. They looked pretty awed from what they could see, but were quickly side-tracked by Liam’s state of undress.

“Look who got ripped over the Summer,” Niall whistled lowly. He poked at Liam’s chest a few times, persistent even when Liam smacked his hand away.

“And what is _this_?” Louis gasped in mock horror, wiping at a bit of stray toothpaste Liam didn’t realise he’d gotten on himself. “Some unidentified creamy substance-“

“I’m going to stop you right there,” Liam says, still slapping Niall’s jabbing hands away. “What’s up?”

“Well, Payno, we were wondering why you and Mani had to leave the feast so early,” Louis says. “It’s quite mysterious, really.”

“Quite,” Niall agrees, nodding his head seriously.

Liam smiles pleasantly. “You guys will find out tomorrow at breakfast.”

Niall jabbed him again, this time in annoyance.

“You can’t be serious,” Louis groaned. “Bets have already started and I need the insider info.”

“No one is going to bet against you when they know you always bully the answers out of me,” Liam points out. “What’re the bets so far, though?”

“Nathan Sykes is still positive it has to do with Hagrid coming back,” Niall says, counting the name off his finger. “Alison Magoogan reckons another troll was let loose, a la Hermione Granger style. Peter Pomphrey thinks that you guys are secretly electing more Prefects. And uh… Louis bet-“

“Louis bet nothing,” Louis hisses.

Liam raises an eyebrow. “What did he bet?”

“That you were-“ Louis suddenly clasped a hand over Niall’s mouth, but Niall struggled against him, pulling his fingers away and laughing out: “That you were getting – stop, Lou! – demoted.”

Liam gaped at Louis, affronted. “That’s rude.”

“Not demoted because you’re bad or anything,” Louis grumbled, shooting a glare at Niall. “But just because, like, the new trend of schools having Prefect Committees instead of Headys, you know?”

“Please stop calling me Heady,” Liam groans.

“No-can-do Payno,” Niall tells him sombrely. “The nickname has already started to spread.”

“What’s Normani called, then?”

“She’s also called Heady,” Louis tells him.

Liam furrows his brow. “Won’t that get confusing?”

“I see no downsides on our part,” Niall says. He and Louis high-five, sufficiently proud of themselves.

“You two can leave now,” Liam says, starting to push at their shoulders.

“Payno, no,” Louis whines. “What’s going on? I’ve got serious gold on this bet.”

“I highly doubt that,” Liam says. “Goodnight, lads.”

“At least let us see inside?” Niall tries, again trying to peer over Liam’s shoulders. “The Heady rooms are legendary, mate. I just want to get me a glimpse-“

“You just want to ask Mani if she’s still single or not,” Liam corrects him, smiling knowingly. “And before you ask, I have no idea. But ask on your own time. I’m going to bed.”

Louis stops fighting Liam’s removal attempts and instead perks up at this information. “Need to be up early for something? Perhaps something related to your absence at dinner?”

Liam, finally, manages to shove them both out. He just waves silently as the passage closes behind them, leaving the two boys huffing with annoyance outside.

 

                                                            +

 

That night, Liam struggles to sleep. Maybe it’s because he’s gotten used to his lumpy but familiar mattress back in Muggle Wolverhampton, or perhaps it’s because he ate too much too quickly, but whatever the reason, his stomach was filled with the same sense of anxiety that hadn’t left since he learnt of the Ilvermony students’ presence in the school. His mind whirled, his nightmare so livid that-

_“Stop!” he croaked out, futilely trying to kick away the presence above him. But his legs went straight through it, going numb with the shadow’s chill. Tears were pooling down his face, vision blurred, skin burning in the worst way, but still the black shadow came closer. It’s hooded head seemed to open, a black hole appearing where it’s face should have been, sucking the air right out of Liam’s lungs. Liam laid in his bed, paralysed, trying to scream but finding that every fibre of his being was useless. Hopeless. Helpless._

He woke up with a shock. His heart was hammering faster than what was probably healthy, and he was sweating so profusely that his pillow was damp. It took him a moment to realise he was clutching his wand.

“Fuck,” he groans softly, scrubbing a hand down his face. He feels itchy and unsettled and disturbed, so he slides out of the huge bed, forfeiting the warmth of the comforter for the cold tiles in the bathroom.

When he looks in the mirror, he hardly even registers his own face, too busy looking around the reflection of the room because he has the peculiar sense that he’s being watched.

“Get a grip,” he mutters to himself. “Can’t be going crazy on the first day.”

Still unwilling to go back to sleep, he decides to have a quick shower, sighing in relief when the warm pressure of the shower eases the tension in his shoulders. He wonders if the showerhead is charmed, actually, because it does such wonders to his mood. Steam billows around him, fogging up the mirrors, forcing him to stop looking for shadows in the corner of the room.

He wonders what caused the dream. He doesn’t have nightmares often, but when he does, it’s usually when he’s back home with his parents, because that’s where he feels the least safe. Ever since learning about the second Wizarding War, he’s been perpetually worried about someone coming after him, considering he’s a half-blood and all. He supposes that he just considers Hogwarts to be safe, full of so many people like him that he doesn’t feel so open, like he could be easily lost in the crowd. Maybe not so much now that he was Head Boy, but still. He liked the knowledge that he was surrounded by people like him.

He wonders if the Ilvermony students were like him.

It’s unbearably cold when he steps out of the shower, so he quickly conducts a drying charm before sliding his sweats on again. He wipes away the fog and looks at his reflection again. Much better.

He isn’t prepared to find his room bathed in bright green light.

Or, rather, the bits of his room visible from the window. Heart racing again, he approaches the window slowly, eyes squinting against the light. It flashes on and off sporadically, only lasting a few seconds before disappearing again. He pears out of the window to see what’s causing it.

The light comes from the Headmistress’ office.

His wand is back in his hand in an instant. He has no idea if the Headmistress is awake, but green light usually means one of two things, and one of those things is dark magic. Death Eater magic.

Liam is about to send a patronus around to all the staff and bolt for Chang’s office when he sees movement. It’s the Headmistress herself, fully dressed and not looking all that disturbed. In fact, someone moves forward and she shakes their hand. She does the same to half a dozen other people, all of whom Liam doesn’t recognise. He suddenly realises that the green light was for the other of the two things: floo.

 _Oh._ The rest of the Ilvermony students.

He tries to make out their features, figure out why they were so different to the rest of their peers and had to travel separately. He also wonders why the entirety of the Ilvermony Student Council had come to Hogwarts, rather than somewhere like Durmstrag where they’d probably fit in a bit more, based on how elitist they seem to be. (Don’t get Liam wrong, he loves his school. But if he’s being honest, Hogwarts is probably one of the daggiest Wizarding schools in Europe. Why would they want to come here while they wait for whatever’s wrong at their school to be fixed? And why would they come to Europe in the first place, and not just another American school? None of it was really making sense.)

Still feeling disturbed but significantly less panicked, Liam put his wand away. Or, on the night stand, at least. He never really slept too far away from it, mostly because Louis likes to prank him when he sleeps, so Liam likes to get his retaliation in nice and early. That night, though, he sleeps with it close because he’s not entirely sure that he won’t need it.

He dreams of awful green light and screaming.

 

                                                                        +

 

“This’ll be interesting,” is the first thing Normani says when Liam meets her in their shared common room. She’s fully dressed in her robes, hair looking glossy and face refreshed. Liam is also fully clothed, but personally thinks he looks like shit. Whatever.

Liam nods in agreement. He’d woken up that morning to one of the school’s owls pecking its beak on his window. He’d untied a small scroll from the bird’s foot, finding instructions from Chang asking himself and Normani to escort the Ilvermony students to breakfast before the Hogwarts students got there. Liam suspects they’re being sent early to minimise the whole ‘grand entrance’ type deal, in the spirit of trying to pretend having a bunch of American students hiding in their school is normal. Personally, Liam reckons that the school will go mad with excitement and confusion no matter how much they pretend this is all normal, but he’s not going to say that to the Headmistress.

“Do you think they’ll stay in the Room of Requirement or get moved to one of the House dormitories?” Normani asks when they leave their dorm. “I can’t imagine the ROR to be all that comfortable, if they’re sticking with the same setup we saw last night. Separated only by curtains for the better part of nine months? They’ll burn the place down the moment someone steals a scarf.”

“Did you feel how cold it was in there too?” Liam asks. “As if they didn’t having a heating charm in the works. They looked like they’d been in there for long enough.”

“I wonder what’s going on at their school,” Normani muses. “Must be big.”

“What could be so big that they are secretly relocated to another continent?” Liam wonders.

Normani cracks a grin. “Bees?”

Liam laughs at that, knocking his shoulder into Normani’s as he walks. He stops laughing abruptly when one of the paintings hisses that he’s being too loud.

“Jesus, how early is it?” Normani whispers.

“No idea,” Liam says. “Do you think the Americans will be jetlagged?”

“They didn’t fly here on jets, Liam.”

“Still a different time-zone.”

They arrived at the Room of Requirement and came to a natural stop. Both seemed to take a deep breath, knowing that it was going to be a long day, filled with endless questions, loud conversations, and a whole lot of explaining. Liam can’t even imagine what Cho must be going through, explaining the situation to the Hogwarts staff and students alike. He vaguely wonders if the Ministry know about all this. He figures it’s not exactly possible to travel continents by floo without _some_ sort of border control.

The ROR seems to be thrumming with energy when Liam opens it. Inside, he finds dozens of students flittering around, getting changed and chasing each other and yelling on top of each other. The room seems to be in chaos, not a single staff member in sight. Students of all ages bicker and laugh and basically just make a whole lot of noise, the sound booming out of the room. Liam quickly shuts the door, lest some of the Hogwarts students hear and come to see what’s going on.

As soon as the door clicks shut, the noise stops and all eyes are on them.

“Hello again,” Normani greets awkwardly. The Ilvermony students just stare at them blankly.

“We’re here to take you to breakfast,” Liam tries.

Liam’s never seen so many relieved faces.

“Thank fuck, I’m starving,” someone close to them says to a friend once the noise resumes. “You’d think they’d feed us dinner when we arrived, but apparently not.”

“I’m guessing you guys showed up pretty last minute, so our Elves probably didn’t have time to make extra food,” Normani explains.

The guy looks shocked. “You still use _Elves_ for labour here? Isn’t that illegal.”

“Not in England,” someone else says. “And the rest of Europe, mostly.”

Liam has no idea why using Elves for cooking would ever be made illegal, considering how willing to work they were. He didn’t really feel like asking.

A girl around their age looked between them expectantly. “Are we going or what? I’m dying for a calzone.”

Liam furrowed his eyebrows. “A what?”

The girl matched his expression. “You don’t know what a calzone is?”

Liam and Normani exchanged a look. “Cow-Zone?” Liam repeated.

“Oh my god, we don’t have time for this,” another student cut in. He had curly hair and bright green eyes, and was practically bouncing on the spot. “Everyone finish getting ready, I need coffee!”

“Don’t tell us what to do,” a younger looking student quipped, but they were smiling.

“I’ll get your brother to tell you what to do if you prefer, Safaa,” the guy said, grinning playfully.

“Oh, leave her alone, Harry,” the Cow-Zone girl groaned. “I’m, like, three seconds away from ditching you all.”

“You need to stay as a group,” Normani tells her.

Cow-Zone makes a face. “We’re not a group of ducklings, pom. We can walk without holding hands.”

“I didn’t actually think anyone called Brits ‘poms’ anymore,” Liam murmurs to Normani. She just shrugs.

Throughout this entire exchange Liam had come to realise a few things: Americans were loud, Americans were abrupt, and Americans were obsessed with Cow-Zones, whatever they were. He was already starting to get a headache.

He was about to say something before an uncannily loud whistle ripped through the air. He swivelled to find the curly-haired boy, Harry, just taking two fingers out of his mouth and looking pleased with the silence before him. “Alright, kiddos, we’ve got breakfast to attend. Everyone who’s ready to go, come stand at the front. Everyone still getting ready, too bad, we’re going.”

Liam isn’t sure he agrees with forcing them all out when he can spot half a dozen students without shoes on, but he appreciates the sudden sense of order. Once the room was quiet, they all turned to face Liam and Normani expectantly.

“Er, so, we’re going to take you to breakfast now,” Liam tells them. “We’re going early so that you can have a chance to walk freely and sit down before our Hogwarts students rush in and, like, stare at you, or whatever.”

“We’re also going to put silencing charms in place on the way there, so feel free to talk,” Normani adds. “And once the Hogwarts students start arriving for breakfast we’ll make sure they don’t bother you. Let you settle in, and all that.”

“Do you realise that you Brits use a lot of run-on sentences?” someone asks. He looks to be in their year, with dark hair and light brown skin and a thick set of eyebrows. “Like, your speech isn’t very direct.”

“Considering you just had to use a clarifying sentence after your initial statement proves that you do, too, just in a different way,” Normani says, not skipping a beat. She doesn’t spare the guy another glance before turning on her heel and gesturing for the students to follow her.

Liam took up the back end, so as to make sure none of the Ilvermony kids wandered off or caused any trouble. They seemed harmless enough, perhaps slightly louder than the Hogwarts crowd, but Liam could see the similarities between the two schools.

Something he did notice, though, was that the majority of students weren’t wearing ties.

“Uh, excuse me?” Liam asks the curly haired guy from earlier. The guy turns his head, waiting for Liam to continue. “Why aren’t many of you wearing ties?”

“Ties are optional when we’re not in class,” the guy says. His green eyes brush over Liam curiously. “Do you have to be fully dressed at all times?”

Liam nods. “Except on weekends. And when we’re in our common rooms.”

“That’s so _restrictive_ ,” the guy says. Liam doesn’t know how to respond to this, because he doesn’t really find his uniform all that oppressive. It’s a tie, not a noose. The guy doesn’t wait for him to answer, though, instead holding out his hand for Liam to shake. “I’m Harry Styles, by the way. I’m on the Prefect Council for Ilvermony.”

“Oh, cool, I think I saw you guys arriving last night. Floo, yeah?” Liam asked. Harry nodded. “I’m Liam Payne, Head Boy. We’ve got Prefects, too, but they’re not in an official committee.”

“You’ll get there eventually,” the dark-haired guy from before said. “Britain is bound to catch up with the twenty-first century eventually.”

Liam squinted his eyes at this guy. He didn’t offer up his name or any further speech, only acknowledging the conversation thereafter at all when Harry pinched him.

“Sorry about that,” Harry said. “He’s just tired. Once he has some coffee in him he’ll be good.”

Liam just smiles awkwardly. The walk is thankfully short, and Liam only has to speak to the American students twice more. The first: directing them to a newly formed fifth table. The second was explaining the basics of the Great Hall.

“Generally speaking, there’s a table for each of our Houses: Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin,” Normani explains, gesturing to the other tables. “For the first feast everyone sits on their designated table, but after that some students tend to mingle. This table is designated for you guys, but if you feel comfortable venturing out, you’re more than welcome to.”

“What Houses are you in?” one of the Ilvermony students asks. She looks young, perhaps in her second or third year, and completely in awe of the space around her.

“I’m in Slytherin, and Normani’s in Ravenclaw,” Liam answers. “The House system is mostly just tradition, though, with the House Cup and Quidditch games and such. We don’t have the sort of House elitism that some schools have.”

“You used to have it, though,” the dark-haired boy piped up. Again, Harry pinched him and hissed something Liam couldn’t hear.

“We did,” Liam acknowledges. “And that went badly, so now we don’t.”

A few more questions were asked, mostly just about where the food came from and what the customs for eating were. Liam was surprised to learn that it was Ilvermony custom to not start eating or drinking until the Headmaster has taken three bites of food and at least two sips of his drink. The Ilvermony students were appalled to learn that Elves cooked the food. Again, Liam and Normani were left completely confused on why.

Soon Hogwarts students started filtering in. It was amusing, almost, watching them stumble in, barely awake, rubbing at their eyes and then suddenly freezing, staring at the strangers on the far side of the room. A few students approached them, but Liam and Normani sent them back, telling them to go sit down. Even as they sat, though, they continued to gawk at the Ilvermony students, talking amongst themselves. By the time the Hall was full, the noise was almost deafening.

When Louis and Niall walked in, wearing each other’s tie (as was tradition for them on the first day of the year, and they always ended up losing ten points for both Gryffindor and Slytherin but refused to stop), they made a bee-line straight for Liam.

“So this is what you’re hiding, eh?” Niall asked, staring at the Ilvermony kids in awe. “We’ve got some new students? Or are they visiting?”

“Um,” Liam said. He didn’t know what else to say, so he left it at that.

“Heady, c’mon,” Louis pleaded. It took Liam a moment to realise Louis was addressing Normani, not him. “Give us a little bit more info about all this.”

“You’ll be finding out literally any minute now,” Normani told him, patting his head sympathetically. “Go sit down, Tomlinson.”

“You two are no fun,” Louis said, pointing at them both accusingly.

Liam and Normani both shrugged. “I’ll cop that,” she replied.

Louis and Niall were forced to go sit down when Headmistress Chang approached the podium. They sat at the Gryffindor table for once, though, because it was closest to the stranger. As soon as Chang cleared her voice, the room fell silent. Liam and Normani stood at the end of the Ilvermony table awkwardly, a fair distance between themselves and the closest American students.

“Good morning, students,” Chang greeted. “There’s no point in pleasantries, considering how much I know you are all dying to discover who our guests are. I would like to welcome the Thunderbird House from the Ilvermony School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, a prestigious American school.”

The Hogwarts students applauded, but sort of distantly. They all still looked a bit confused.

“This year, Ilvermony has decided to send its students abroad to different schools in Europe for the duration of the school year,” Chang continued. “This means that our guests will be here for the full year, living in our spaces and exchanging cultural ideals with us. I implore you to make the most of this experience, and to not abuse your status as hosts.

“Also along the lines of exchanging cultural ideals,” the Headmistress continued. “A part of the Ilvermony requirement for graduation is to complete a year-long project, paired with another student, to be presented to the seventh year assessors in the week before final exams. After much consideration, myself and the Ilvermony Headmaster, Professor Michaelson, have decided to pair each of the nineteen seventh-year Ilvermony students with Hogwarts applicants. If you are interested in helping with these projects – for extra credit, of course – you are welcome to send a letter of interest to me by the end of the week.”

“Did you know about this?” Liam asked, nudging Normani.

She shook her head. “A project? That’s so vague. A project on what?”

“If you have any more questions, I ask that you consult with Mr Payne or Ms Kordei for the time being, as myself and Headmaster Michaelson still have much to organise,” Chang continues. “Also, the Room of Requirement is off limits without exception. Have a wonderful day.”

Without further ado, breakfast materialised in front of them. Liam was about to reach for the plate of bacon when he noticed a few students get up and start walking over. He quickly pulled out his wand and created a small divide between the Hogwarts and Ilvermony students. He then cast a spell to have ‘LET THEM EAT FIRST’ written across the invisible wall. The Hogwarts students stopped short, looking up to read it. They pouted at Liam, but he made a shooing gesture, and they backed off.

While doing this, he hadn’t realised that the dark-haired boy had shoved himself away from the table and was storming up to the teachers’ table, heading towards a professor Liam didn’t recognise whom must be an Ilvermony teacher. He looked annoyed but still respectful to his superior. Liam watched in confusion as the teacher led the boy out of the Hall.

“He’s annoyed about the project, if you’re wondering,” Harry told him, casually buttering a slice of toast (or, rather, hacking it, with an extremely unorthodox way of spreading butter). “We can’t technically graduate if we fail the Final Project, and he reckons it’s unfair to have you students be part of that when it’s not about passing or failing to you.”

“How come you guys don’t just do it between yourselves?” Liam asked curiously.

“Odd number of students,” Harry explained. “Also, you can’t be paired with a close friend that you could have pre-organised Project ideas with. Considering we’re all in the same House, we’re not allowed to work with one another. The downfalls of bonding, I guess.”

“That really sucks,” Normani says sympathetically. “What’s the Project about, though?”

“It’s whatever,” Harry says, taking a bite of his toast. He gestures vaguely. “You and your partner basically have to come up with something that’ll wow the assessors based on your mutual talents. Like an experiment, or an invention, or something like that. It’s pretty vague, because you could get weird skill matches like someone who likes gardening and someone who likes Quidditch, you know?”

“Sounds complicated,” Normani says.

Harry shrugs. He looks up at them, then, eyes serious. “Are you two going to apply?”

“I might get a bit more info then make a decision,” Normani says. “I don’t want to jump into it blindly.”

Harry nods at this. Then they’re both looking at Liam expectantly.

“I have no idea,” Liam says honestly. “I’ve got a lot on my plate, so like-“

“Then don’t do it,” the dark-haired boy cuts him off, sliding into the seat next to Harry’s again. He’s scowling, eyes hard. “We don’t need someone who has _no idea_.”

“Zayn,” Harry murmurs, nudging him. The boy just shrugs him off.

Sufficiently sick of the tense and awkward conversations he’s had with Ilvermony students so far, Liam excuses himself to go sit with Niall, Louis and the others. They all grill him with questions, some he answers and others he can’t. He whispers to Niall and Louis that there’s more to the story than Chang’s letting on, but otherwise doesn’t say too much. Whatever is happening back in America can’t be good, and he just hopes to God that those problems don’t follow the Thunderbirds here. And that the two schools don’t rip each other to shreds before some foreign problem can sink its teeth into them first.

**Author's Note:**

> Tell me what you think! It's been a while since I've written something so hopefully it's not too rusty xx


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